Senate Plans Hearing on Google-China Issues

The Washington fallout from Google's dispute with China leads to Sen. Dick Durbin setting a hearing on technology firms' business practices with Internet-restricting countries. Durbin also raises questions on the progress of the Global Network Initiative, a voluntary code of ethics among tech companies doing business in repressive countries.

The U.S. Senate plans a March hearing on technology companies' business
practices in Internet-restricting countries. Executives from Google and
other tech firms, as well as administration officials, are expected to
testify about their efforts to promote Internet freedom. The exact date of the hearing has not been set.

As a prologue to the hearing, Sen. Dick
Durbin (D-Ill.), the assistant majority leader and chairman of the the Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the
Law, sent Feb. 2 letters to 30 information and communications
technology companies, including Apple, Facebook, Skype and Twitter about their human-rights efforts in China.

Durbin's letter asks each firm for details of its business in China,
and what, if any, measures it will implement to ensure that its
products and services do not facilitate human rights abuses by the
Chinese government.
The hearing was prompted by the recent controversy between Google and China. Google said Jan. 12 it will stop censoring searches on its Google.cn and reconsider the feasibility of
even doing business there after the search giant reported cyber-attacks
from within China aimed at gaining access to the Gmail accounts of
human rights activists. Google
also said 20 other companies from a wide range of businesses had
suffered similar attacks.

"I commend Google for coming to the
conclusion that cooperating with the 'Great Firewall' of China is
inconsistent with their human rights responsibilities," Durbin said in
a statement. "Google sets a strong example in standing up to the
Chinese
government's continued failure to respect the fundamental human rights
of free expression and privacy. I look forward to learning more about
whether other American companies are willing to follow Google's lead."

Durbin's inquiry also follows up on a
letter that Durbin sent last year, urging technology firms to join a
voluntary code of conduct known as the GNI (Global Network Initiative)
The code of conduct, which regulates the actions of technology firms
operating in countries that restrict the Internet, has been backed by
Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo, although little progress has been made on the initiative.